Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

In front of the Fan Mansion, there were corpses and wounded lying in a mess. The smell of blood in the air was very pungent. After leaving behind a pile of corpses, the armed guards of the Fan family began to retreat into the mansion to guard the gate.

The Fan Mansion was under tight security, with a group of private soldiers armed with muskets patrolling the mansion to prevent the volunteers from breaking in.

In the magnificent main hall, Fan Yongdou sat upright, with his son Fan Sanbo, as well as the main nephews and several aides of the Fan family sitting below him. The atmosphere in the hall was unusually depressing, and everyone in the Fan family was nervous, as if a disaster was about to happen.

The development of the matter was far beyond Fan Yongdou's expectations. After the Fan family left their hometown in Jiexiu, they had been operating the business for generations and had long been deeply rooted in Taiyuan. Their stronghold was as solid as an iron barrel, but he did not expect it to be breached so quickly.

All the houses, shops, and warehouses owned by the family were confiscated. They were the hard work of the Fan family's ancestors! Every big animal here was poured with the blood and bones of Master Fan.

Fan Yongdou tapped the table with his right hand and said in a deep voice: "Everyone knows what happened in the city. The army of the Great Yan court has surrounded the Fan Mansion. Our only way out now is to defend the Fan Mansion and wait until dark, then we can sneak out through the secret passage."

Seeing that everyone below had no fighting spirit, he added: "The most important thing now is to defend the Fan Mansion. I hope everyone can work together. Otherwise, once the Fan Mansion is breached, not only will I be killed, but you will also have difficulty saving your lives!"

Suddenly, there was an explosion outside the hall, followed immediately by a scream. A group of private soldiers patrolling outside the hall were knocked down by a grenade thrown in from outside the mansion, and the ground was covered with blood and screams.

When Fan Yongdou's eldest son Fan Sanbo heard the screams, his fat body trembled violently and the flesh on his face shook, obviously frightened by the explosion and screams.

Looking at the bloody scene outside the hall from afar, Fan Sanbo's face turned even paler. At this moment, the rich young man was about to collapse.

Fan Yongdou glanced at his son Fan Sanbo and shook his head secretly. Then he stood in front of the hall and shouted loudly: "Listen, everyone. As long as you can defend the Fan Mansion, the master will reward each of you with 5,000 taels of silver!"

The Fan family has nearly a thousand private soldiers, each of whom is paid five thousand taels of silver. At one time, he can spend millions of taels of silver. Fan Yongdou is worthy of being the richest man in the area. His methods and courage are quite sophisticated.

The private soldiers in the mansion were all excited when they heard this. Five thousand taels of silver, they would be landlords no matter where they put it!

"Master, don't worry!"

"Master, please rest assured. We have been blessed by the Fan family for generations, and we will definitely protect your family's safety!"

In the hall, the private soldiers patted their chests.

Seeing that their morale was high, Fan Yongdou nodded slightly. He heard that the volunteers were dispersed in the city and there shouldn't be many people attacking Fan's house. He thought they should be able to hold out for a day or two without any problem... He could evacuate with peace of mind.

"Break the door!"

"Wan Sheng!"

Suddenly there was a whistling sound outside the house. Fan Sanbo in the hall screamed in fear and couldn't help shaking all over. Fan Yongdou frowned and made up his mind that if he escaped this disaster, he would never choose this waste as the successor of the Fan family!

“It’s your time to shine.”

Several humanoids made way for the M2HB to set up its machine gun and prepare to break down the door. According to a signal from a scout in the sky, a large group of private soldiers armed with muskets were blocking the door, and they were obviously trying to trick them.

"You and your broken bunker make me feel ridiculous." With a slight grin, M2HB pressed the firing button fiercely. The . bullets rained down on the gate. The palm-thick wooden door was instantly riddled with holes like broken cotton wool under the strafing of such a large-caliber machine gun, and the private soldiers behind the door turned into a bloody mist.

The gate was directly smashed by the machine gun and could be opened with a slight push. A row of grenades prepared by the volunteers were thrown into the mansion. Amid the dense explosions, screams from inside became continuous.

"Charge the battalion, charge in!"

The smoke of gunpowder had not yet cleared as, at the command, dense crowds of soldiers in helmets and armor, holding muskets, poured in from the gate of Fan's mansion, and desperate screams were heard from inside.

The volunteers did not give any chance to the private soldiers in Fan Mansion. When they had the upper hand, they ordered the rest of the soldiers to charge into Fan Mansion. Waves of soldiers continued to enter Fan Mansion, announcing that Fan Mansion had been captured.

For a moment, bullets flew everywhere, and the firepower suppressed the Fan family's private soldiers in the mansion, so that as long as the private soldiers showed their heads, they would be accurately shot by Mosin-Nagant and Springfield. They could only pull the trigger and shoot randomly, and kept retreating towards the hall.

In the hall, Fan Sanbo's face turned pale and his body began to tremble. He was frightened.

Fan Yongdou looked calm and unmoved. Seeing this, one of Fan's staff said, "Master, the firepower of the Great Yan army is too strong. We can't defend Fan's house at all. Let's break out and run away!"

Fan Yongdou shook his head and said, "This is my Fan family's ancestral property. I can't abandon the Fan Mansion!"

The staff member urged anxiously, "Master, why are you doing this? As the saying goes, if you keep the green mountains, you will never worry about lack of firewood. If you don't consider yourself, you should consider the future of the young master. The young master is still young, and he can't be trapped to death in the Fan Mansion!"

After hearing this, Fan Yongdou showed hesitation in his eyes. He was not thinking about this useless son, but was worried about his own life...

After a moment's silence, Fan Yongdou said, "Well, I will definitely get it back with interest in the future!"

He then said, "Send someone to carry out all the gold and silver from the storehouse in the backyard and spread them in the yard!"

Fan Yongdou knew very well that if he tried to escape like this, he would be chased and intercepted by the volunteers, and he might not even be able to leave the Fan Mansion. If he asked people to move all the gold, silver and jewelry in the mansion and scatter them on the ground, the soldiers who were chasing him would be demoralized. They would have no intention of chasing him and would even fight each other for money. It would be much easier for him to break out this way.

Since he couldn't take the money away, he had to make the most of it to buy time for himself to escape. Money is only external things. If you lose it, you can earn it back. But if you lose your life, what's the use of all the money? The old businessman's shrewdness and courage are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

The private soldiers outside the hall were almost unable to hold on, and they began to retreat one by one and retreat into the hall with fear in their eyes. They had tried their best to resist, but with the cooperation of the battle-hardened volunteers and the humanoids, they didn't even have a chance to fight back and seemed vulnerable.

“Bang! Bang! Bang…”

Continuous bullets shot into the hall, smashing several vases on the table. Fan Yongdou's face finally changed drastically, and he stopped pretending. He shouted anxiously: "Quick, protect me and break out from the back door!"

Fan Yongdou didn't even care about his son and ran straight to the backyard. On the way, he came across boxes of gold and silver that the servants were carrying out. He ordered without hesitation: "Open all the boxes and pour all the gold, silver and jewelry on the ground! Quick!"

"Crash!!"

Countless gold, silver and jewels were dumped on the ground. Under the sunlight, they emitted fascinating colors, attracting the attention of many private soldiers and servants of the Fan Mansion.

Fan Yongdou knew that he must not let his men get in trouble first, so he shouted, "Everyone, follow me to break out. As long as you can get out of the mansion, everyone will be rewarded 10,000 taels of silver!"

At this moment, the servants and private soldiers were excited again. No one was a fool. If they stayed to pick up the money now, they would only be killed. If they could protect the master and fight their way out, not only could they save their lives but they could also get 12,000 taels of silver. Only a fool would not do such a pie-in-the-sky thing.

The private soldiers no longer lingered on the gold and silver on the ground, and surrounded Fan Yongdou and Fan Sanbo and fled towards the back door.

When they were rushing to the back door, a group of women suddenly ran out from the backyard. They pulled Fan Yongdou and cried, wanting to leave with them.

Being harassed by a group of women at a critical moment, Fan Yongdou's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, and he shouted: "Kill all these crazy women who are blocking the road!"

The volunteers broke through the front yard, passed through the hall and continued to charge towards the backyard. On the way, they encountered countless gold and silver scattered on the road, at least millions of them.

"What's that on the ground? Is it caltrops?"

"Your caltrops are round? They are silver!"

"Is your asshole leaking? How come so much is leaking?"

"Whatever, keep chasing!"

The military discipline of the volunteers was extremely strict, and they emphasized compliance with orders. If one person made a mistake, the whole class would be punished. Moreover, the volunteers had followed Jiang Han all the way to search the house, and they were almost numb to the sight of silver. These things could not affect them at all. Teams of soldiers ran straight to the back door of Fan's house, trampling on the gold and silver, and chased Fan Yongdou who had fled out of the house.

Fan Yongdou and his servants scattered gold and silver along the way, trying to lure the pursuers behind him. However, he thought his move was smart, just like breaking bread as a mark along the way, which exposed his whereabouts.

The volunteers easily caught up with them in the direction where the gold and silver were scattered. Amid a burst of gunfire, the private soldiers and guards of the Fan family fell like wheat.

Fan Yongdou shouted anxiously: "Just kill them!"

He wanted to rely on the Fan family's private soldiers to escort him out of the city, but the gap in firepower between the two sides was getting bigger and bigger. There were only two or three hundred people left by his side, while the pursuing volunteers numbered hundreds of people, and there were also soldiers from other places gathering in an endless stream to surround them.

Fan's private soldiers were shot and killed one after another. Fan Yongdou had no way forward and no way back. Seeing that he was at the end of his rope, he turned back and shouted in the direction of the Volunteer Army: "General behind us! God is merciful. If you let me go, I will give you one million taels of silver!"

The platoon leader in charge of the pursuit team sneered: "One million taels? Keep it for yourself!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

The sound of gunfire like popping beans rang out again. The number of Fan family's private soldiers was getting smaller and smaller. After several rounds of attacks, only a hundred people were left. They had no fighting spirit anymore and dropped their muskets and knelt down to beg for mercy.

Fan Yongdou was lucky enough not to die in the hail of gunfire. He was captured by two soldiers. He struggled hard and shouted, "I am a representative of Shanxi gentry merchants. I have extensive connections and I have acquaintances all over the country. You can't..."

A sharp slapping sound was heard, and a volunteer soldier slapped Fan Yongdou's old face fiercely, interrupting him and asking, "Are you still being stubborn?"

Fan Yongdou fell on the ground in a difficult spinning position. His right face was swollen and he saw stars and felt dizzy.

"Search the house immediately and arrest all the members of the Fan family. Make a list of all the valuables in the Fan mansion and take them away!"

After receiving the order, the volunteer soldiers acted quickly. They first arrested members of the Fan family, and then raided the Fan Mansion, searching all the warehouses in the mansion.

Then the volunteers began to search Fan's house step by step, not even letting go of a tael of silver or a bushel of rice. They changed the weight of their steps every few steps, and knocked on the square bricks a few times when they saw something suspicious, in case there was a hidden layer under the tiles.

The soldiers had long heard of the endless ways these wealthy families had come up with to hide their money, but fortunately, the volunteers had already learned a considerable amount of treasure-hunting techniques from Liuzi's group of professionals, and the group conducted a thorough search of the Fan Mansion.

"Look, there's a big cellar here!"

A Volunteer soldier lifted up a few bricks and discovered something unusual underneath, which turned out to be a huge underground warehouse.

A team of soldiers just entered the dark underground warehouse, blew a fire stick to light the oil lamp beside them, and the scene inside scared everyone.

The vast underground warehouse was ablaze with golden light, with gold, silver and jewelry arranged neatly everywhere. Even the bricks on the ground were made of gold, real gold bricks. The walls were all made of silver bricks, and there were large iron boxes densely packed around the walls.

When they opened the box, they were almost blinded by the dazzling array of things: pearls, agates, gemstone jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, as well as some rare items that they didn't even recognize. The cheapest item was a large ingot of official silver worth fifty taels.

Everyone opened their mouths in shock. A soldier finally managed to squeeze out a few words from between his teeth: "Damn it, young woman!"

"How much are the things here worth?"

“I’m not sure…”

There was not only this one secret cellar in the Fan Mansion. Soon, several more were discovered, each of which was no smaller than this one. When night fell, the Fan family's property in the Fan Mansion was finally registered. The property in the Fan Mansion alone was worth 10 million taels of silver!

The Fan family's business is all over Shanxi, and they also have businesses in major commercial areas across the country. If all of this is added up, how much wealth would it have! This is just the Fan family. There are also seven other families. How much do their businesses add up? If we expand it further, how much would the small and medium-sized traitorous families who have been dependent on the eight profiteers for generations count...

It's so uncomfortable. I've been feeling really groggy these days. My throat hurts so much that I want to jump off the building. I also have sores in my mouth, which prevented me from eating properly for four days. The pain is so severe that I can't even sleep. I went to get some medicine today and spent all my savings. Everyone, health is so important that you really need to take good care of yourself. I wanted to rest for two more days, but I didn't expect to be recommended again. I can only get up and update @q@q@群伊溜巴②①7⑦①榴

Volume 426: Chapter Chapter : Did I summon one?

On the 20th day of the first lunar month in the first year of the Great Yan period, after three days of purge, Taiyuan City gradually returned to peace. The volunteers transported the confiscated property to the capital in batches, and also escorted the eight major Shanxi merchants and the main members of their families.

In Beijing, Jiang Han was reading the good news from Shanxi with great interest. A total of 80 million taels of silver were seized in this large-scale property search. Other gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, as well as goods hoarded by the eight major Shanxi merchants were worth at least 200 million taels of silver. Due to the huge amount, the sorting and inventory work was still in progress.

Even Jiang Han was astonished by this huge number. Since the opening of the Ming Dynasty during the Longqing Period, the total amount of silver that has flowed into the Ming Dynasty through overseas trade in the past seventy years is only 353 million taels. Now the total amount of silver in the world is only 1 billion taels. The cash in the hands of the eight major Shanxi merchants actually accounts for nearly a quarter of the total amount of silver in the Ming Dynasty.

No wonder later economists said that the real reason for the Ming Dynasty’s demise was lack of money, too much fiscal deficit, less income than spent, and ultimately its complete collapse.

As we all know, the demise of the Ming Dynasty was not a simple political issue; economic issues played an important role. This is also an important case in the history of world economy.

The Ming Dynasty was one of the most advanced countries in the world at that time. From the opening of the country during the Longqing reign to the rise of the Qing emperor, the commodity economy had developed very well. The symbol of the commodity economy was currency, and the currency of the Ming Dynasty was mainly silver.

Natural disasters continued to occur in the late Ming Dynasty. If the court wanted to provide disaster relief, it had to have silver. Without silver, no matter how many planned economies the court had or how many financial reports and budgets the Ministry of Revenue made, it was all nonsense. The ** Emperor's decree for disaster relief sent to the disaster-stricken areas in Shaanxi could not be exchanged for a single copper coin, not even as much as toilet paper.

The Ming Dynasty had always been short of silver. The total annual output of silver mines across the country was only 180,000 taels, and the people only recognized silver. The Ming Baochao issued by Zhu Yuanzhang was out of use not long after it was issued. No matter how advanced it was, it was useless. No matter how powerful it was, it had to follow economic rules. Without the industrial credibility recognized by the people, nothing you said would be of any use.

Therefore, when the Ming Dynasty developed overseas trade after the Longqing Opening of the Borderlands, it required foreign merchants to pay silver in exchange for goods. After the Longqing Opening of the Borderlands, the Ming Dynasty earned one-third of the world's total silver at that time. Combined with smuggling and other channels, it can be said that the Ming Dynasty owned half of the world's total silver. But why did it still have no money or silver?

The commodity economy of the Ming Dynasty was very developed. The more developed the economy, the more silver was needed. However, the amount of silver available for circulation in the market at the end of the Ming Dynasty was limited and not enough. The biggest reason was that the silver was concentrated in the hands of a small group of officials and businessmen, and was either invested in land and real estate, or stored underground.

A large amount of silver flowed into the Ming Dynasty, but it did not form new purchasing power, create new value, or promote innovation. Instead, it brought new problems. First, the large influx of silver caused goods to become expensive and silver to become cheap, leading to inflation. Later, most of the silver was controlled by the powerful, so that there was not much silver circulating in the market, which led to deflation. The Ming Dynasty’s top leaders did not solve these two problems.

The prosperous overseas trade enabled European countries to obtain a large amount of overseas goods in global trade. These goods stimulated new markets. European countries such as Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal evolved into capitalist countries one after another, while the Ming Dynasty stopped at the budding of capitalism and ultimately missed the opportunity to become a rich and powerful country.

In addition to the large amount of silver hoarded by the eight major Shanxi merchants, the powerful people in the capital also had 70 to 80 million taels of silver. The silver accumulated by the Jiangsu and Zhejiang financial groups and the Guangdong financial groups in Jiangnan was probably no less than that of the Shanxi merchants. To put it more deeply, the capitalists of the Ming Dynasty had already kicked the court out.

Whether it was the establishment of nine trade gateways in the early Ming Dynasty or Japan's voyages to the West, they were all for the court to control wealth. However, the capitalists of the Ming Dynasty united and gradually controlled the northern trade gateway, that is, the Silk Road. They also used some means to abolish Japan's treasure ship team and control the Maritime Silk Road. Even the Battle of Tumu may have been planned by them, just to control the northern trade gateway and kick the court out.

The so-called European voyages were, to a certain extent, an international division of labor in the value chain. In fact, they were meant to help Ming Dynasty capitalists find silver overseas, that is, to export silver to China and complete the offshore minting of silver capital.

The Eight Shanxi Merchants used cellars to store silver, deliberately exacerbating the shortage of silver so that the interest rate could be increased when lending it out. These people know how to speculate in the capital market.

The Jiangnan capitalists and the Shanxi capitalists controlled the Ming Dynasty's maritime trade and land trade respectively, and played with the Ming Dynasty's economy step by step. How could those nerds who learned eight-part essays in the Ming Dynasty court be able to play with these smart people? No matter how they tried to carry out economic reforms, it was useless.

Jiang Han has no idea of ​​playing tricks with this bunch of old flies who have been scheming for their whole lives. It is convenient and environmentally friendly to kill them directly. Cooperation is impossible. Those people have finally kicked the court out and gained the initiative. How can they easily share their cake with himself, who has just come to power? So let's not go through the process and just give it to you directly!

The news that the eight major Shanxi merchants were eradicated by force caused an uproar and shocked the whole country. People from outside the country accused the new emperor of being so bold and presumptuous just after ascending the throne, and that he was clearly trying to dig up the roots of the gentry in the world!

However, except for those idiots who didn't know the truth, no one paid any attention to him. Everyone was knowledgeable. The new emperor was so decisive in conquering the world that he would raid the homes of the gentry every time he captured a city. He has been so audacious and presumptuous for a long time. You are so brave, do you have the guts to refute him to his face?

Jiang Han reported all the actions of these Shanxi merchants through newspapers, and promised that all the land in the hands of these wealthy businessmen would be contracted out to households, and guaranteed the distribution of seeds, livestock and grain. The grassroots people are Jiang Han's basic base, and as for these gentry, let them shout as much as they like. A scholar's rebellion will not succeed in three years. They are just a bunch of CJBs.

When people are happy, they are in high spirits. At this time, they should draw two cards. Thinking back, I haven't drawn a new wife for a long time. But then I thought again, those fairies have made me suffer enough. If I draw again...

After weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Han gritted his teeth and said, "It doesn't matter if I'm a little tired, the most important thing is that I want to see everyone reunited!"

He skillfully clicked the summon button and threw in two cores. He heard that there was dragon energy in the Forbidden City. Jiang Han had never been here before, so he decided to give it a try this time to see if his luck could be better.

"Give me some family cards... Give me some family cards... Give me some family cards..." Jiang Han closed his eyes and clasped his hands together, repeating silently. If he could get a family card, the dolls would be busy communicating with their companions, reminiscing about the past and playing together, etc., so that he could have more time to rest.

Ding ding ding ding! Four beeps, it looks like it's four stars. It's okay, the number of stars doesn't matter, she's still my wife!

The doll should have been dropped near me. I wonder who it is... Jiang Han thought with some anticipation.

"Oh no! Someone's tongue is frozen to the flagpole!"

"Get some warm water!"

Just as he was thinking this, there was a loud noise outside. Jiang Han's heart suddenly started. The first thing he did after entering the door was to lick the iron railing. What kind of little genius did he summon?

It hurts, it hurts so much, damn, I want to blow up the earth with one punch!!! I swallowed my saliva and had a shiver, I am just like Wu Laoer who had a cerebral thrombosis next door @q@q@group 7⑥bar②一七①溜

Volume 427: Chapter Chapter : Surprise and Negotiation

After a lot of trouble, the people in the palace finally rescued this reckless little girl from the iron flagpole, and brought her to Jiang Han according to Jiang Han's instructions, and of course, her companions.

At this moment, Jiang Han finally knew who this little genius was. She had silver hair, golden pupils, and a hip skirt under her combat jacket. Her lower body was outlined with two slender black silk legs. Her calves were tight and without any fat. She was extremely charming, of course, if you ignore the silly smile on her face.

Next to her, the brown-haired girl was looking at the other person with a worried look on her face. After seeing Jiang Han, the worry on her face immediately turned into a smile, and she jumped towards Jiang Han: "Commander!!"

".....It's you." A smile appeared on Jiang Han's face. Wow, it seems that the Forbidden City really has a story. The family members' card is here, and here are two of them!

That’s right, these two are members of the UMP family: UMP40 and UMP9, the little sisters of the UMP family. They make 45 worry a lot. 9 is actually okay, she has a lively and cheerful personality, and 40... I can only say that her innocence is inexhaustible.